LemgoDigital: Fraunhofer IoT-Lab for digital transformation of small and medium sized cities

We live in a world that is becoming increasingly networked. More and more aspects of our everyday lives are being digitized. This also affects life in the city. The question arises as to how these technical advances can be exploited to make the interaction between people and the city more attractive. Smart city concepts are being explored all over the world. The focus is mostly on the challenges of large cities against the background of urbanization. However, small and medium-sized cities, which are home to more than half of the population in NRW alone, can also benefit from digital, intelligent solutions. With the "Lemgo Digital" project, an innovative approach was initiated to develop solutions for creating a digital medium-sized city, serving as a Germany-wide reference for many similarly shaped cities and regions. The project was designed as an open innovation and test platform in which the digital transformation of municipalities could be tested and piloted. The primary fields of action included the areas of mobility, attractive city center and environment. Through participatory processes and the establishment of a city-wide IoT infrastructure, usable and scalable solutions were implemented as innovative products and data-based services together with companies, municipalities, research institutions and citizens.